Step by Wicked Step
by Souvenir
Summary: In which Kairi, the nicest girl you could imagine, walks in on her boyfriend Sora and their friend Riku. Kissing. With one fell blow, she decides that if nice girls finish last, she doesn't want to be one anymore...full summary inside.


**a/n: I've never actually bothered to read a fic where Kairi is the main character. She just doesn't interest me much. But I got to thinking about her character, and suddenly wanted to write something that focuses completely on her. And let me tell you---first person Kairi is bloody hard. So, since I could never write a Sora/Kairi fic---because that would be like _lying_---I decided to write one where Kairi gets her fairy-tale destiny stripped away, leaving a girl who's feeling bitter, betrayed, and, most importantly, angry. Now, what I want to focus on is what happens after the fact, so this is just the prologue. I think we're all going to have a really fun time with this, so let's all side with Kairi for once. Who knows, maybe she's not so bad...when she's trying to be bad. (Note: she will be terribly annoying in the beginning of this, because this is normal-Kairi. Everything changes by the end of the prologue, though, so no worries, eh?) **

**Summary: Kairi was the sweetest girl you could ever meet. Kind, polite, and soft, she was treated like a princess in her small town on its paradise-like island. Then one day she walked in on her boyfriend and…_his _boy friend. Kairi's decided it's true after all: nice girls finish last. And she just isn't going to settle for that anymore. So she waves goodbye to her precious island and her precious boyfriend----but not before punching him out---and resumes life on the mainland, where she finds that not being nice isn't as hard, or as easy, as she thought. **

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**Prologue**

"Good morning Kairi!"

"Morning, Riku! You look cheerful today, did something good happen?" I smiled at my neighbor, swinging my legs slightly as I lounged on my wooden porch, soaking up some sun while avoiding the too-hot sand. Riku's been my friend and protector since before I can remember. He's practically the perfect neighbor, with his kind green eyes---eyes that, unlike the unwanted gazes of certain beach bums, didn't make me uncomfortable and always lingered on my face---and I always look forward to our little conversations. Mostly we have them in passing; but that's fine, since once he wakes up Sora and I are practically attached at the hip.

To be perfectly honest, that's the way I like it. Sora is my boyfriend of nearly one year, and, well…

"What are you giggling for, Kairi? You're so funny."

"I know I probably forgot to tell you this, what with summer ending so soon, but Sora and I's anniversary is tomorrow!" In my excitement I squealed at the end, and, jumping up to hang over the low railing, peered into Riku's face.

He gave me a small smile. He seemed slightly distracted.

"Riku?" I asked. I could feel my own grin slip a little.

"Well, it's just that you must have wanted to spend all day with Sora, then. But he and I are going sailing in the cove today. Didn't he tell you?"

My bottom lip protruded; I'd forgotten about that. "I'm not allowed to sail in the cove," I said unhappily. My parents thought it was too dangerous for me, and they had a point---the swiftest surface of water, where the boys would want to sail, hid patches of jagged rocks. There'd been an accident last summer involving a girl around my age. She'd drowned before anyone could reach her, and ever since my parents were twice as protective as before--- today wasn't going to be the first outing the boys went on that I'd have to miss. I smiled brightly for Riku, what would be one more day? I'd be able to spend the next one with Sora, uninterrupted.

Riku's smile grew. "Don't worry, Kairi, I'm sure we'll be back early."

"Yeah!" I chirped, content again. "Besides, I was thinking about adding a few things to our wall of memories, you know, make it special. As a surprise."

"Ah, that's a good idea. You want my help?"

I puffed some air out of the side of my mouth, shoving at his broad chest with my delicate hand as if I could actually move him. Riku humored me, throwing his weight to the side and pantomiming a spectacular fall in that hot white sand.

"Silly Riku!" I admonished lightly. "You don't wanna keep Sora waiting, do you? Get a move on! I'll be waiting for you guys when you get back."

He grinned sheepishly, getting up and dusting off his dark blue shorts. "Sure. We'll tell you all about it, 'kay?"

"'Kay!" I shouted at his retreating back. I watched him until he was halfway down the beach, then started thinking.

"Hmm…pictures of me, pictures of Sora, our letters, that necklace he gave me, some more pictures of me…what is the wall of memories missing?"

The Wall of Memories was my idea. It's not as mysterious as we (Sora and I) make it sound, it's really just the back wall of my room, the only one without a window. I'd always found it dreary because of that, since it meant that I couldn't see the sea from that angle. At that time I'd been keeping my mementos of Sora in a shoebox under my bed, a shoebox which I'd painstakingly decorated with pink glitter and little stickers of golden locks and keys and pretty bits of sea shells and…well, whatever I could find. I considered it my greatest treasure. Of course, I'd been using it for so long that one night when I picked it up the bottom fell through. It just so happened that the first thing my eyes fell on was that dreary, ugly, plain wall.

Before I knew what I was doing, I found myself vigorously absorbed in tacking ribbons and pictures and drawings to the wooden siding. I dragged that special invisible glue all across it, giddy as I tossed fine silver glitter at our faces locked in happy moments. I found my box of bright colored paper and cut out intricate borders, backgrounds, and folded flowers and stars. All of it went onto the wall.

"Hmm…" My gaze went out to the ocean. That wall was now my favorite. Every time Sora and I had a picture taken, together we picked out a special spot for it. Nowadays there was hardly any space on it, but somehow we always found room for more, and I always find solace in it. Of course, this summer, with my parents so strict, I've been staring at it lots. The thought even came to me once that if Sora ever left, I'd never leave it.

"Kairi! You've been staring into space like that for twenty minutes! Come in and eat some breakfast, dear!"

"Kay mom!" I called, smoothing some wrinkles in my pink sun dress.

"Oh, by the way, Kairi. Your father and I have something to tell you tonight."

"Tonight?" I paused, my hand on the edge of the screen door. My mom was in the kitchen, bending over a frying pan. I could smell bacon sizzling; there were eggs on the table. "I'll probably be out with Sora and Riku, once they get back."

"Oh. Uh…yes, that's fine. You have fun tonight. Just see us before you leave. Oh! And you've got letters from a couple admirers, too."

I nodded carefully. There was a catch in my mother's voice…ah, but she was getting over a cold, that would explain it.

After breakfast, most of which I spent watching my mother in case she was feeling ill, I wandered up the spiral stairs---a feature of my house that I've always loved, it reminds me of the towers where princesses live in fairy tales---into my room. Those puffy clouds had come out of hiding, I noticed; they were chasing the sun across the sky and throwing down shadows with flashing edges upon the waves. I sat on the edge of my bed and surveyed the landscape some more. My mind wandered to the other side of the island, where Sora and Riku were no doubt tearing through the water at top speed, whooping and laughing as their handmade vessel leapt up and down. I could see a particularly strong wave catch them, coupled with a strong gust of wind that sent them shooting across the cove. The boat would rock violently, they'd lunge and grab the sides of the boat, gripping the wood so tight that when they came back they'd have splinters all over---not that they would care, with the sea spray coating their faces, trapping stray locks of damp hair. It wouldn't matter that they were a mess, their eyes would still be shining through…

I sighed, letting my head fall into my hand. The ocean and the sky were obscured by my cloud of silky red hair. I noticed that even though I'd been tanning all summer my hand was a pale color near ivory.

I sighed again. I just wanted to be there with them. Riku's and Sora's parents figured they could take care of themselves. No one had suggested I could do the same. Not even I did. There were a couple of tough girls on the island; they went sailing in the cove all the time. Of course, as my mom pointed out, they also went out with a different boy every week, and more often than not gained…undesirable reputations.

The Wall of Memories glinted in the corner of my eye. My words to Riku ran through my head. "Make something special," I said, listening to my own double echo.

I'm really good at folding paper---I make little charms, flowers, that sort of thing. Would a paper charm for Sora be special enough? I pressed my lips together, deep in thought, conjuring up his image.

Sora has a smaller build than Riku. He is perhaps short for his age, but maybe Riku's just taller than average. He's the perfect size for hugging, though, and even though he's slender, he also has some muscle to speak of. His oval-shaped face is framed by wild, light brown hair, and he's got the most beautiful cerulean eyes this side of the ocean. His voice is comforting and strong---just like the rest of him. If I had to be the judge (and who could be a better one?) I'd call him as close to the perfect boyfriend as you can get. Sora's got one of those smiles, one of those walks, one of those looks---the ones that make you want to trust a person. The ones that make you love a person.

Alone in my room on that sunny summer day, the day before me and my boyfriend's one year anniversary, with the light spilling through my windows and illuminating my Wall of Memories, I flipped carefully through my book of folding papers, selecting only the prettiest shades of blue I could find, and for the next five hours I lost myself in the creation of that "something special."

"Kairi? Could you come down now?"

My father's voice woke me from my nap. After its completion I'd curled up in the last patch of sun and drifted off, imagining Sora's face when he saw my present.

"Coming!" I called, getting up stiffly and stretching from my toes to my finger tips. I couldn't help the huge, dumb smile on my face---this had went beyond a common paper charm, and I couldn't wait to show it to Sora. He'd be so happy!

I took those winding, fairy-tale stairs two at a time, and almost felt like a princess when my feet lightly touched the ground. I held the project in one hand and its many components fluttered around me as I skipped happily into the kitchen. My parents were both sitting at the table. Each had a steaming mug of coffee in front of them, and a blank, mild expression.

"So what's going on?" I sang, beaming at them.

They exchanged nervous glances.

"Kairi, your mother, that is, I, that is, we…have decided to move. Somewhat far away. There's a great job offer, and we've been planning it for a while. I'm sorry, honey, but we didn't know how to break it to you without ruining your summer…"

I blinked. "You're joking, right?" I turned quickly to my mother. She stared into her coffee intently. "Dad?" I asked, imploringly. I could feel my lip quivering, and something inside me was tightening. "It's…you're not…you're serious?" My voice broke. The rest of me, unfortunately, went with it.

"But why?" I could barely force the words out between choking sobs. I had one hand over my face; I could feel it turning scarlet and my nose, like my eyes, was starting to leak. In my other hand I held onto a hanger. Attached to it was a landscape scene, all made of paper: blue waves crashed into each other to spill onto a night-time beach; they carried a fleet of little delicate boats, and on the beach I'd painstakingly made two silhouettes: Sora and I held hands and smiled, he the perfect boyfriend, and me happy as could be.

"We can't go, we---_hic_---can't---go!" I cried. My shoulders were shaking, suddenly I was cold and wished I wasn't wearing my favorite pink sun dress. "It's not fair!" I wailed. "You didn't---_hic---you didn't even ask me!" _

"No, honey, it's not like that---" I ducked under my father's seeking hand, running out of our sweet little seaside home. They were too slow to catch me, and soon their pleas for me to come back and be reasonable were lost in the wind.

I had to find Sora.

The rising sun had long since taken its leave; I'd never run on the beach at night like this. I found myself tripping over small rocks, my ankles twisted in the deep sand. Still I ran as fast as I could, Riku and Sora would be walking back around this time---I'd run into them eventually---my foot caught on a piece of driftwood and I tumbled to the rocky sand in a heap, scraping both hands and knees. I threw a rock in frustration at the sky. It seemed to be a strange, uncertain creature, threatening my existence with new ideas of what was up and what was down, maliciously ripping my senses from their heretofore snug homes.

I tried to stand up too quickly in the wind; this time I cut my lip on something---a broken piece of glass?---as I went down. The stinging didn't compare to the cold, what with the wind and the night and the spray from the ocean. Everything got confused in the dark.

After I'd been running for maybe forty minutes my panic started to slowly subside. Once I found Sora, the sky would be in its rightful place again. Everything would go back to normal. He'd smile and say, "what's that you're holding, Kairi?"

Yes, I had to find Sora, and then he'd make it all okay.

And then, at long last, I heard their voices. I fell to my knees, panting, I would call out to them when they got closer. I almost managed a smile. The more distinct their voices became the more calm I was. They were somewhere off to my left, and moving slowly. I frowned. Why would they be moving slowly? Were they okay?

Was Sora okay?

"Stop it, that hurts!"

I gasped. Sora _was_ hurt! His voice was strained---high---I shoved myself forward, ignoring the stitch in my side---where were they?

And then they were in my range of vision---Sora was leaning on Riku----leaning on Riku----and….and…kissing Riku. On the lips. With their mouths open. And Sora was moaning---and Riku's hand was---

Something in me, the thing that had tightened, swelled.

"Sora." I shouted, and walked where they could see me.

The two froze. Both were missing shirts; Sora had spit all over his face….Sora had _Riku's _spit all over his face. All over his precious face. The face that should have been looking at me and smiling at me and kissing **me. **

"Kairi! I, uh, this isn't what it looks like---" Sora scrambled away from Riku's parted legs, looking at me with overly bright eyes---the most beautiful, most treacherous eyes this side of the ocean---and running his hands through his brown hair, hair wilder than normal, sticking up where _someone else _had been running _his _hands through it.

I stared at him, trying to make my gaze the coldest it's ever been.

"Kairi…what's that you're holding?"

I looked at it. It was only tatters and shreds now. It was ruined.

Like everything else.

I thought of things to say, but this time made sure not to childishly purse my lips. He cheated on me. He cheated on me! And not with a girl. He…he…cheated on me with our best friend. Our best _boy_-friend.

"Is there something wrong with me?" I whispered. My voice was hoarse from sobbing. "It was all a lie? Everything? Do I mean so little to you? Does---does my dignity mean so little to you?"

His face was inches from mine; he seemed to realize his state and hastily wiped it off with the back of his hand.

"It's not like that…Riku…"

My eyes flashed to Riku. At least Riku looked worried about the blood on my lip. His eyes were broken, full of sympathy. Our conversation from that morning came back to me, and I wrenched my eyes from his traitorous face.

"Is this what you wanted to protect me from, Riku? Is this why you smiled at me, because you were mocking me the entire time?" I asked softly.

"Kairi---it's just that you're so nice, and I didn't want to hurt you.." Sora lightly touched my shoulder.

As soon as he made contact my fist flew, as if by its own accord, into that face, that face that dared to try and smile at me.

Sora fell backwards; and out of the corner of my eye I saw Riku kneel down beside him.

I didn't talk to my parents when I got home. Vaguely it registered that we were moving the next day.

I went to my room, sat in front of my wall, and cried.

All the while I stared at my bruised knuckles, feeling strangely empowered. I'd discovered a universal truth that had been obvious to everyone but myself---being nice, being kind and trusting, leaves you with nothing, panting in last place. And as my gaze flickered between the vast expanse of photos, I vowed that I'd never let anyone make me cry ever again.

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**a/n: Well, there it is. I should have been studying for exams instead of spending five hours on something like this...so won't you make me feel better and drop me a review? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one, guys. **


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